Articles

June Technical Speaker 1

Exploring Texas Boundaries

Michael Hoover, RPLS, LSLS, CFM

This presentation will be a condensed version of a current TSPS sponsored course entitled “Exploring Texas Boundaries”.  We will take a look at the State of Texas boundary lines and touch on the history and events leading to the establishment of Texas borders.  We begin the discussion with a brief overview of the 6 sovereign nations whose flags have flown over our state.  We then take a tour of an incredible 50 year span in American history (1803-1853), highlighting the concept of Manifest Destiny, the apex of American diplomacy, and an expanding western US boundary.  Highlighted events include the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the 1819 Adams Onis Treaty, the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto and 1845 Annexation of Texas into the United States, the 1846-1848 Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the Compromise of 1850 and the 1853 Gadsden Purchase.

Mr. Hoover has been surveying the lands of the greater Houston area since 1987, covering a span of over 25 years.  In addition to being a Registered Professional Land Surveyor, he is also a Licensed State Land Surveyor and a Certified Floodplain Manager.  He chaired the 2010 TSPS State Convention in Houston and is a member of the Land Surveying Advisory Committee to Lone Star College Montgomery.  He has been active with the TSPS for many years and is a past President of Gulf Coast Chapter 9 and a current sitting member of the TSPS state level Board of Directors.  He is a frequent contributor to the Texas Surveyor, the TSPS bi-monthly magazine, and past editor of the Journal of the Gulf Coast Surveyor.  Focusing primarily on boundary and boundary related issues, Mr. Hoover recently joined forces with Andrew Lonnie Sikes Inc.